Hello Diigo - Goodbye Delicious!

After reviewing for some while the development of delicious.com since it was sold on by Yahoo, the University of Cumbria Careers Service has decided to use diigo.com as its main website for useful links.  Our links will be stored at the specific url http://www.diigo.com/user/uoccareers.  Here's a quick screenshot to show roughly what it looked like earlier today:

Hold On - What's All This About?

If you're not familiar with the likes of diigo and delicious, they are both social bookmarking sites.  Anyone can sign up for an account and use it to save web references that interest them - although in the case of diigo, you can do much more, e.g, annotate or highlight text within the referenced webpages.  A bit like Google bookmarks, they have the advantage that, unlike IE favourites or similar, you can view them from any computer.  An extra advantage over Google bookmarks is that anyone else can view them  too, if you have allowed public access to your bookmarks.

Because of the vast explosion of careers and job information on the internet, many University Careers Services make use of them to reference the vast amount of online information likely to be relevant to their clients.  For example, the University of Cumbria currently has 2055 web pages bookmarked on diigo - far too many to even consider putting on a "Useful Links" section of a website. Most services use delicious or diigo but there are others, and the University of London have their own dedicated bookmarking site, Careers Tagged

The key trick is that the use of tags means that it is possible to pick out links according to a key theme or area of interest, rather than browsing all of our links to find if there's anything useful to you.  So you get  exactly those weblinks that are relevant to your needs - more or less.  You can see the precise tags below each web reference in the screenshot.

OK, So How Do I Use This Stuff?

If you visit http://www.diigo.com/user/uoccareers you can pick out the tags that will interest you and search on them in the box at the top (next to Careers Adviser's Public Library).  Or simply type the first few letters of a word you want to search on and diigo will bring up all the possibilities in a dropdown box.  Alternatively just click on any tag beneath a weblink or in the "Top Tags" list and diigo will bring up all the bookmarks bearing that tag.

Then click on the link to bring it up in your browser, or use the 'preview' facility to get a taste of what's on that page.  If you have too many links using one tag, you can narrow things down by selecting another.

You can also retrieve links by modifying the main link to the uoccareers section of diigo in a url web address.  So http://www.diigo.com/user/uoccareers/cv will bring up all the links tagged 'CV' and  http://www.diigo.com/user/uoccareers/internship will bring up all the stuff on internships, etc.

Useful isn't it?

Sites like diigo offer you a vast amount of information at your fingertips and weed out a lot of the chaff you would get by just googling the themes you want.  It's surprising then that most students report that they have not heard of this sort of site, let alone used them, or set up their own accounts.  All we can say is - give it a try!

University of Cumbria students can find a more detailed guide about using diigo on the Jobs&Careers tab on Blackboard (see 'Plan Your Career' section).  If you should find any dead links on http://www.diigo.com/user/uoccareers - or if you would like to suggest some new ones - please feel free to contact us on careers@cumbria.ac.uk

Controlling Your Interview Nerves... Before you Even Get There

I read a blog post the other day that claimed the worst thing you can do in a job interview is accept a glass of water, and then be unable to hold it steady because you are so nervous.

That's a bit rough though, isn't it?  It's probably nerves that gives you a dry throat in the first place.  It got me thinking about how it's almost impossible to control your behaviour once you're actually in the interview and that the only way forward is take control of things before you end up in the hot seat.  I suppose this makes it my duty to reveal an Easter Bunny from the hat to show how it can be achieved.  So here goes:

The first thing to realise is that nerves are basically a physical reaction, so that the key to controlling you nerves is controlling your non-verbal behaviour. There are a few ways in which you can do this.

1) Use Positive Thinking Techniques

To suffer from interview nerves is natural but some people undermine themselves so diligently that they basically do not believe they are good enough to do the job.  Either they have a deepseated inferiority complex or they suffer from impostor syndrome

If you think you may fall into this sort of category, consider using techniques such as affirmation (e.g. "I am an excellent, talented... and I'm going to get the job") and visualisation (e.g visualising yourself being offered the job.)

If this theme interests you, there is a whole school of American-inspired literature on the subject of positive thinking. A word of warning here is that some of the writings from across the ocean have a "Get Rich Quick" or bible-bashing feel to them. But the works of many authors, for example Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy or Stephen Covey are generally more palatable to a UK audience.

Positive thinking techniques definitely work - but you can't expect them to start working the night before an interview.  They need time and repetition.

2) Think Of Something Pleasant...

This simple solution was suggested by a girl I used to work with.  In the last five minutes before her interview was called, she would simple imagine herself as a child sitting on a tree swing, gently rocking to and fro.  For her, it was an image of great inner harmony, so that she inevitably felt inwardly relaxed and happy.  So her non-verbal behaviour would be correspondingly relaxed and happy when she was finally invited to go in.  There is a lot of evidence to suggest that first interview impressions can be vital...

Now I can imagine that there are many, many pleasant things that you could find to think of while you wait to be called for an interview and students' suggestions have occasionally been imaginative.  Take your pick!

3) Relaxation and Breathing

Bearing in mind that the origin of nerves is the body, exercises that concentrate on the body like breathing and relaxation exercises as per this NHS guide can with some adaptation also be used to help you calm down immediately before an interview.

On relaxation, I particularly like the Gestalt concept of gradually just noticing each part of your body from the feet up (or head down).  Sometimes just being aware of tension in say your stomach or neck can be enough to resolve it, and this is something you can readily do without anyone else noticing.

4) Just Smile

One of the first things that happens when people become nervous is that they forget to smile.  If you notice that this has happened, try laughing at yourself and you will be smiling!

This is really a behaviourist idea and is based on the theory that if you do the behaviour, the feeling and thinking will fall in line.

The fact that this one doesn't totally ring with me reminds me to mention a couple of extra things:

• The above is a 'horses for courses' list.  Not all the techniques are for everyone, so pick the ones that suit you.
• If you have a major hang-up about job interviews that has resulted from very negative experiences, it might be worth requesting help from a Careers Adviser to get some practice in a non-threatening environment.  If you are a University of Cumbria student or recent graduate, you can do so by contacting us via careers@cumbria.ac.uk

Unpaid Internships: Are they Fair?

The following details were extracted from a Graduate Recruiter magazine article: "Unpaid, Unfair, Unwise" by Danielle Grufferty.

Unpaid internships are increasing and an NUS YouGov poll (Nov 2012) found that unpaid internships are widely seen as an important route into the key professions including media, fashion, finance and politics.

The current cost for a university student is many tens of thousands. This means students are paying for their education before being asked to work for free, but only if they can afford to do so. Confused? Please can somebody illuminate some reason here, any justification? Are we not missing the very purpose of labour laws? Is the fundamental principle not to protect employees?

Our economy is floundering. So when an employer says they will 'let' young people work for free on the vague promise of paying jobs later, they will find desperate people to do it. But just because people are willing to do it, can we really just let the market take over and let it happen?

Alan Milburn's report as the Government's Social Mobility Tsar on Access to Professional Careers argues ''unpaid internships clearly disadvantage those from less affluent backgrounds who cannot afford to work for free for any length of time'' he goes on to say [internships] ''should be subject to similar rules to other parts of the labour market. That means introducing proper, transparent, and a fair process for selection and reasonable terms for employment including renumeration for internships'.

The TUC launched their smartphone app, which allows individuals to work out whether their internship is legal or not, and whether it is of a decent quality - and even provides a calculator by which those who have undertaken unpaid internships can determine how much they should have been paid, and contact HMRC to raise this violation of minimum wage legislation!

TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady says 'Whether they are unscrupulous or genuinely unaware of the rules, too many employers are ripping off young people by employing them in unpaid internships that are not only unfair but, in most cases, probably illegal...... it is vital that we crackdown on those internships that offer little but hard graft for no reward. Employers need to know there is no such thing as free labour.''

Do degree scores relate directly to future earnings?

The Big Survey (of over 400 graduates) carried out by Gradcore has confirmed that this is not the case. Therefore if graduates are selected based on degree score as a measure of their overall work performance/potential, talent will remain unidentified. This view is further highlighted by the recent Target Jobs Breakfast where Simon Howard from Work Group suggested that "using the 2:1 as a recruitment filter can be bias against very good candidates on the basis of gender, ethnicity or even subject of study" Also, is a 2:1 from one University the same as a 2:1 from another?
In the light of this there is a need for other measures of graduate employability to be available to graduate recruiters. Two evolving offers are the HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Award) and Skills Awards.
The HEAR has a wide range of potential benefits but it is unclear how easily it will integrate into and add value to graduate selection processes. The "Skills Award" or "Graduate Award" has been instigated by Universities as a means of pulling together information on work experience, volunteering and extra-curricular activity into a certificate or accreditation. Again, the challenge of consistency could mean that it is hard for recruiters to know if an award from one University is the same as an award from another.
The route through this challenge lies in the strengthening of relationships between graduate employers and Universities. Then, by working together, awards/accreditations can be co-created and, as a result, a better understanding of the specific qualities of graduates from certain courses/Universities can be developed as well as the continued analysis by graduate recruiters of what makes a successful hire in their organisations. If this happens, could a 2:1 finally become a smaller part of the overall picture?

Teacher Training - Latest Lessons

Here are the latest grains of wisdom from the quickly shifting sands of teacher training provision, as provided by University careers colleagues who are members of the Teaching and Related Professions Task Group.

Teach First

Recruitment to the programme has been brisk for 2013 entry and over 1000 applicants have already been accepted.  There are still 250 vacancies, but these are mainly for Maths and English.

The scheme now has its own dedicated website www.teachfirst.org.uk including vacancy details and a central application process.

To anticipate a couple of likely faqs:

• About 17.5 % of the 2012 intake ( a total of 997) are teaching in primary schools.
• 36% of 2012 entrants are male - well above the 25% in the profession overall.
• Teach First will accept Psychology graduates to teach Science - but only if they achieve a B.Sc. and have grade B in a science at A Level.

School Direct

News has also reached us that it will be possible to apply for School Direct vacancies through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry when the latest wave of applications for 2014 entry opens on 1st November this year. Application deadlines will for the first time be scrapped. 

Note: School Direct is already making its mark in Cumbria and North Lancashire, and we can expect Teach First to follow suit.

Graduate Jobs Market On The Turn?

According to the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services website a recent survey of Heads of University Careers Services showed some optimistic results on graduate job prospects. The vast majority (90%) of careers bosses surveyed in the last quarter of 2012 felt that the graduate labour market was either becoming more buoyant or at least getting no worse.  80% felt that the position was better or about the same as in the same quarter of 2011.

Finance, construction and engineering were all quoted as areas that were recruiting graduates heavily. Notably some IT and engineering firms starting to have difficulty filling vacancies, and smaller businesses were finding it hard to compete with the salaries and prospects offered by larger companies.

While this all fits in with the overall reduction in unemployment reported in the papers, less good news is that opportunities for graduates in the public sector, on which many University of Cumbria students are largely dependent, have continued to decline, while full-time vacancies are being replaced by part-time jobs and internships.

Any improvement in the graduate labour market must of course be good news but the sad truth is that it probably doesn't make a great deal of difference to many graduates from Cumbria, who are basically faced with the "Shall I stay or shall I go?" question.  Either they pursue attractive job adverts elsewhere, or put up with the more limited prospects available in their home area.

Why You Should Link Up with Linked In

Last week's post on networking made a passing mention of the importance of using social media for networking purposes, in particular Linked In. Since then I have happened on some useful slides about using Linked In (and Twitter) to develop professional contacts by a colleague at the University of Manchester, Helen Buzdugan  Duly inspired, what follows is an attempt to pass on some thoughts about the ways you can use Linked In to develop your own career network.  You may find it useful to open a Linked In account to follow some of the references, if you have not already done so.

While many careers advisers advocate the use of Linked In to students, repeated surveys show that student use and awareness of Linked In is at quite a low level.  This is a shame as Linked In - sometimes alluded to as "Facebook for suits" - is one of the key arenas that budding professionals can use to build up influential contacts.  The difference is that it lacks the frivolity and some of the less desirable aspects of Facebook as it centres on professional life.  It's all about the work you, not you the party animal.

Linked In does include job adverts which are filtered to match your Linked In profile, but much more subtle is the way that you can use it to find unadvertised opportunities and befriend new contacts in particular companies or industry sectors.

Finding People

Using the Linked In advanced search facility, you can look for people who are already in careers that interest you and approach them for advice, company or sector information or to request information interviews.  The Linked In Career Explorer facility allows you to check out profiles of other people who have been involved with the same colleges or companies as yourself so you have something in common straight away.

A bit more subtly still, you can look at people's past career profiles to see what route they took to get to where they are now, which can shed some useful light on the steps you could consider to get to a similar position yourself.

As per good networking practice, Linked In helps you tap in not just to your contacts but their contacts and their contacts' contacts, any of whom you can readily message on the system. An extra dimension is that people will look at your profile too, opening up at least the possibility of getting headhunted.

Searching For Companies

It's dead easy to find companies in a particular geographical area or of a particular kind.  Not all companies have a Linked In page of course and a tool like the Direct Marketing tool of Keynote is a more comprehensive way of producing company listings. But where Linked In scores is on the sheer amount of information you can access by viewing companies who have built a significant profile.

For example, looking at the BBC page straight away gives you details of their current vacancies, and the Insights section tells you of people who have made recent career moves into and out of the company. What astounded me was the fact that, even though I have made no great effort at extending my use of Linked In and have no special interest in broadcasting, their Careers section showed that I have 27 first or second level contacts within the Beeb, only two of whom I have ever met!

Joining Groups

For the would-be job applicant, there are two kinds of groups that can be worth investigating - regional and professional.  A very good example of the former is the Cumbrian link group, a meeting place for a large number of professionals and employers who engage in frequent discussions on local themes - a great way of finding out the key influencers and topical themes in the county.

If you are interested in finding teaching jobs in the UK, there is a Linked In professional group on exactly that theme. Observing and contributing to group discussions can be a great way of making contacts and getting yourself known.

Last of all...

Linked In isn't the only social network that is useful for developing your career.  Following the 'horses for courses motto', there may be others that will be more useful for specific career directions or companies. But Linked In has a very strong presence in the Business, Finance, Commerce and Law sectors to name just a few and as the lead professional network available online, is always worth checking before you look elsewhere.

University of Cumbria students who want to know more about Linked In will find information on the Blackboard Jobs&Careers tab.